Effective March 1, 2001
Finance Department

Table of Contents
I. Purpose

II. Responsibility

III. Approval Process

IV. Travel and Business Expense Policies

A. Air travel 
B. Other forms of travel
C. Car rental 
D. Car rental collision damage waiver and personal accident insurance
E. Use of personal car
F. University owned or leased automobiles
G. Mass transportation
H. Meals and business expenses
I. Lodging
J. Conferences and professional meetings
K. Miscellaneous expenses
L. Expenses not reimbursable by the University

V. Travel Advance Procedures

VI. Expense Report Procedures

VII. Attachments

A. Request For Travel Advance
B. Faculty and Staff Expense Report

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS EXPENSES POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

V.  TRAVEL ADVANCE PROCEDURES

Travel advances will be issued, as needed, to University faculty and staff travelling on University business, if the expected cash expenditures of the trip exceed $200.  Cash expenditures are defined as expenses which cannot be charged on a credit card. The advance must be accounted for on the Expense Report.

A travel advance will not be issued for lodging, service payments such as honoraria, conference fees, or other substantial costs that can be prepaid, prearranged or invoiced. 

Purpose:

The purpose of the Request for Travel Advance is to provide a means for travelers to seek funds in advance of a trip.  The form will serve as the Finance Department’s documentation supporting the request and approval for the disbursement.  In addition, the form will be maintained as an open accounts receivable until the travel advance is cleared with a properly approved Expense Report. 

Completing the Request for Travel Advance:

Authorization of a travel advance should be documented on the Request for Travel Advance and submitted to the Finance Department (mail code T-FH2-01).  The request should be submitted at least 7, but not more than 21, days prior to the departure date. 

This form (Request for Travel Advance) is available for download as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file. You may either save the file to your hard drive for reuse, or open it, fill it out, and print the resulting spreadsheet.

Travelers may request an advance of up to $500.  Requests in excess of $500 must have the approval of a Vice President or Provost. 

To provide the supervisor and the Finance Department with adequate information regarding the purpose of the travel advance, the traveler should complete the information requested on the Request for Travel Advance.  The detail of expected cash expenditures must be sufficient to support the need for a travel advance. 

Signatures:

All Request for Travel Advance forms require the traveler’s original signature (indicating his/her review of the document) and the original signature of the supervisor and budget officer, indicating their approval of the advance.  No Request for Travel Advance forms will be accepted without these signatures. 

Responsibility of Traveler After Trip:

After travel is complete, an approved Expense Report  (Attachment B), should be submitted to the Finance Department.  If the advance exceeded the actual expenses, a check for the excess, made payable to Fairleigh Dickinson University, should accompany the Expense Report.  If expenses were greater than the advance, the University will reimburse the traveler the net amount due. 

A travel advance will be held as a receivable from the traveler until a supporting Expense Report is processed by the Finance Department.  A travel advance must be settled promptly (generally within 15 working days after completion of the trip), and before other advances or reimbursements are requested.  Admissions recruiters travelling for an extended period of time have 15 working days from the end of their travelling cycle to settle their advances. 

Failure to Account for an Advance on a Timely Basis:

An employee may have only one travel advance outstanding at any given time.  Failure to account for a travel advance within 60 days will result in:

1. The suspension of travel advance privileges. 
2. A payroll deduction. 

Processing Request for Travel Advance:

Properly completed and approved Requests for Travel Advance forms should be forwarded to the Finance Department, mail stop T-FH2-01, at least 7, but not more than 21, days prior to travel.  Forms submitted without appropriate signatures and/or appropriate documentation (as defined in the Travel and Business Expense Policies and Procedures ) will be returned to the originator. 

VI.  EXPENSE REPORT PROCEDURES

A properly completed and approved Expense Report (see Attachment B) is required for reporting expenses applicable to University-related travel and business expenses.  Currently, the reports are available in hard copy from the Finance Department (201-692-2111) or as an Excel file upon request, or by direct download from the link below.

This form (Expense Report or Voucher) is available for download as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file. You may either save the file to your hard drive for reuse, or open it, fill it out, and print the resulting spreadsheet.

Purpose:

The purpose of the Expense Report is to provide a means for faculty and staff to seek reimbursement from the University for business expenses, and to give budget officers the opportunity to fully review these expenditures.  In addition, the format of the Expense Report is intended to provide evidence of compliance with Internal Revenue Service reporting requirements. 

Support for Expenses:

The following support for reimbursement requests will be required for all travel and business expenses (original receipts are required for all expenses indicated on the Expense Report):

1. Air Transportation Airline ticket “receipt” coupon and copy of invoice
2. E-Tickets Airline “receipt/itinerary” and charge-card receipt
3. Car rental Car rental agreement and charge-card receipt (if applicable)
4. Personal Auto Miles driven or original gas receipts
5. University Vehicle Original gas receipts
6. Lodging Itemized hotel bill and charge-card receipt (if applicable)
7. Meals Restaurant or hotel bill receipt (if applicable: names, positions, company of the persons entertained and business purpose)
8. Conference Agenda (meeting schedule) and paid receipt
9. Telephone Hotel bill or telephone bill
10. Taxi, Other Receipt or bill

A receipt is defined as a written acknowledgement that a specified remittance, article or delivery has been made.  At a minimum, the name of the payee and guest(s), date and amount should appear on the receipt.  Receipts must be submitted for all expenses. 

Any unusual items or special circumstances causing a policy deviation should be fully explained on an attached signed and approved memorandum. 

The Expense Report must be signed by the traveler and submitted with a copy of the properly approved Request for Travel Advance, if applicable. 

Supervisor and Budget Officer approval indicates that he/she examined the Expense Report in detail, verified the appropriateness of expenditures in accordance with University policy, verified the accurate completion of the form, and is satisfied with the amount claimed as reimbursable expenses by the traveler. 

Completing the Expense Report:

The Expense Report is designed to record business expenses by 5-digit object code (or expense category).  Expense columns are provided for most typical business expenditures (e.g., travel lodging, meals, etc.).

The “Travel / Expense Details” section should be used to explain the business purpose of your trip (in accordance with the University policy and IRS guidelines), the destination of your travel, as well as other unusual items on the Expense Report.  This section should also be used to explain any transactions requiring further detail (e.g., multiple daily destinations, additional charges due to itinerary change, business purpose of “Entertainment / Other” expenses, etc.).  Expense explanations should be referenced by the appropriate date.  Additional explanatory pages should be used, if needed. 

The Expense Report is intended to summarize all expenditures related to a business trip, regardless of the mode or timing of payment.  Thus, advances are listed on the Expense Report, and then deducted from the amount due the employee.  If advances for a trip exceed the total trip expenses, the amount due the University should appear as a negative amount on the report. 

Specifics regarding the expense columns include:

· Incidentals or any allowable expense not specifically designated on the form should be recorded in the “Entertainment” or “Other” columns. 

· The travel advance associated with a trip should be deducted from the net amount due the traveler.

· When seeking reimbursement for personal vehicle mileage, the University mileage rate, 32.5 cents per mile, (effective 3/1/01) should be used.  This rate is intended to offset expenses for gas, oil, repairs, etc.  The number of personal vehicle miles reported must include only miles in excess of normal commuting miles. 

The “Amount Due Employee / (Due University)” must be computed and entered in the designated section of the Expense Report. 

The total trip expenses, net of any prepaid amounts must be charged to the appropriate budget line(s) – 12 digit Colleague account number(s) (ex: 1-067104-56410), in the Distribution of Expenses section of the Expense Report.  The amount charged to the budget should be for the total trip expenses and should not be affected by a travel advance amount, since the advance is not recorded to a budget line when issued, but rather when the travel has been completed.  Prepaid travel expenses, for example, a hotel reservation paid in advance of the travel, should charged to a budget line when issued by the University.

Frequency of Submission:

An approved Expense Report must be submitted with all appropriate documentation within 15 working days after the later of the completion of the trip or the date expenses were incurred.  Expense Reports reflecting less than $100 in expenses can be submitted quarterly. 

Expense Reports submitted more than 90 days after expenses are incurred will not be processed, and expenses will not be reimbursed, unless a prior written approval by a Vice President is provided to the Finance Department prior to the expiration of the 90-day period.  Extenuating circumstances surrounding the delayed submission must be documented in the approval.

Signatures:

All Expense Reports require the original signature of both the employee and the appropriate authority (supervisor, budget officer).  In no instance shall a peer or subordinate approve a traveler’s Expense Report. 

Processing the Expense Report:

Properly completed and approved Expense Reports should be forwarded to the Finance Department, mail stop T-FH2-01, for processing.  Reports which are submitted without appropriate signatures and or documentation (as defined in the Travel and Business Expense Policies and Procedures) will not be processed, and will be returned to the supervisor, or the originating department, if there is no approval. 

The Finance Department will review the Expense Reports for the appropriate signatures, check the mechanical accuracy of the reports and review expenditures and support for compliance with University Policy.  The primary responsibility for the appropriateness of expenditures rests with the traveler and approver. 

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